You Never Know
by AdorbsJenners48
Summary: When Maysilee Donner tries out for a job, she never expects the owner's nephew to be so rude..or extremely good looking. AU (not very good at those) hope you love it! Rated M for language...at least for now. I just had to do a story about them because their story was never told and I cry everytime I think about her death and his addiction and let me stop before I break down.
1. Prologue: Bowls and Stew

You Never Know

_Maysilee_

_Seems just like yesterday, you were a part of me. I used to stand so tall I used to be so strong, your arms around me tight, everything had felt so right, you made me feel ok for once in my life now I can't breathe, no I can't sleep. I'm barely hanging on. _

"_Here I am, once again! I'm torn into pieces! Can't deny it, can't pretend! Just thought you were the one! Broken up, deep inside, but you won't get to see the tears I've cried, behind these hazel eyes!_"

"Maysilee, Get down here!"

"Coming!"

I ran down the stairs, to the dinner room and kissed my dad's cheek.

"Singing again, I see." He said softly.

"Yes, Daddy."

"It was about time you got down here." My mother said. "Your food is getting cold."

"Sorry, mom." I kissed her cheek and sat between my parents.

"So, we've been thinking-" My mom began.

"Not yet, Charlotte." My dad interrupted. "Let her eat some first. "

My mother sighed but she agreed. I looked between the two of them, raising an eyebrow in suspicion.

"So how was your week at school, Maysilee?" My father asked.

"It was alright." I said. "I'm bringing my grades up in Mrs. Flickerman's class."

"That's great." My mom cheered. "Effie always had been a pain in high school, but she's very passionate about her job. Has she been helping you?"

"Yes, actually. Her husband always cheers me up when I get frustrated."

"Caesar comes by?" My mother asks. I don't know why she has to call my teachers by their first name especially Mrs. Flickerman and her husband.

"Yeah, he brings her treats and sometimes small gifts at lunch when she's tutoring me. "

"How sweet." My mother compliments. "No one thought that they would end up together, with him being a class clown and her always wanting everything in order but he cheered her up when she was feeling down, especially during her parents' crises."

"Enough, honey. I doubt Maysilee wants to hear about her teacher's past and her lovey dovey husband." I really don't but I can't help but notice my mother's hurt expression. She was only trying to make conversation and it so happened to be about my teacher's love life/history.

"Actually," I cut in. "I think it's kind of sweet, Mrs. Flickerman's story, I mean." It was only have true.

I glance over at my mom, who seems cheered up by now and I wink at my dad. A corner of his lips turns up slightly before he continues to eat. I smile at my own bowl and bring a spoonful of soup into my mouth.

"Now," my parents both began. It was kind of freaky how they did that. My mother smiles and my father lets her continue. _And he talks about how lovey dovey Mrs. Flickerman and her husband are. _

"We were thinking you should get a job, you don't have to start right away, of course. You can work only on weekends or you can wait until summer to work in the afternoon shifts during the week."

"Now, we know how stressful school can be so it's totally your choice but we think you're at a good age to start working and adding some of your own money to your college fund." My dad adds.

I gape at both of them for a second before regaining my posture. "Is Lily going to be a part of this?"

"Of course." My mom sounds excited. "She came up with the idea. She'll tell you more about it when she comes back from her date."

"Who is it this time?" I groan.

"Maysilee." My father says warningly.

"Sorry."

"So what do you think?" My mother asks, completely ignoring my interaction with dad just a few seconds ago.

"I don't know. What kind of job is it?"

"It's at the hob." My dad tells me. "You can work as a waiter, washing the dishes-"

"Ooh! And there is also karaoke for those employees who want to sing." My mom cuts in.

That grabs my attention and I sit up in my chair.

"But only if you've earned it." My dad says.

"Ok." I say. "I'll think about it." I'm good with people, sure I don't talk much and I don't have a new date each week like Lily, but I've got the skills. And while washing other people's plates is a little disgusting, I'll survive with only a few grimaces. We all know that my answer is going to be yes.

"Great." My mom says. "That's all we ask of you."

I nod and we resume eating until we're all done. By the end of it, I wash the plates while dad cleans the table and mom takes a shower. I'm just drying and putting up the last plate when Lily comes through the door.

"I'm ba-ack" she sings.

"Oh, honey how was your date?" My dad asks from the sofa.

"Oh, you know. Just like any other date."

"So he's not, _the one._" I say as I come into the room.

"I don't know yet but he's got another chance for a date."

"Wow. That good, huh?" My dad grunts.

"Oh, daddy." My sister laughs. "You know you'll always be my number one."

"Do you really have to have so many dates? It's like you're on a rush to leave us."

"Dad." My sister says seriously. "I already told you that I'm going to go to the nearest college and work at the nearest hospital. I'm not going away. I want to stay as close to you guys as possible. Plus, George wants to be the mayor. You know, once he's done with college and all."

"George?"

"George Undersee. Dad, you always ask so many question about my dates before I even walk out the door and you can't even remember the name of this one?"

"Oh, honey, you can't blame me. There's been so many."

"And none of them have been such a good shot as this one."

"I thought you said it wasn't that good."

"Did you really believe me?"

"Not for a second, sport."

I smiled, Lily had been such a tomboy growing up and dad can't help but call her that occasionally. It always makes my sister smile. Lily kisses his cheek and turns to me.

"Did you hear? They're looking for employees at the hob."

"Yeah, I heard while you were out on your _fantastic_ date."

"And….?"

"And… I'm willing to give it a try."

"Oh, that's great!"

"We'll go tomorrow. I know the owner, Sae. She's got some talent with stew, she's the one who told me about the job before putting the flyers up."

"How do you know?" My das suddenly asks. _Oh no._

"I went there." My sister tried. "On a date once."

"Really? Your last date before this one was a few weeks ago. How come you told us about the job offer yesterday?"

"Because I've gone with friends after that?" She wringed her hands.

"Lily." My dad used his warning tone, like he did with me a dinner. Except Lily doesn't take those as well as I do. "Ok, ok. Today wasn't my first date with George. It was my second. Kind of."

"Kind of?"

"I really like him, daddy, and he just invited me to lunch there once-it's really close to school- so we went in his car and today was out first official date."

Her fingers were turning red, as was most of the rest of her hand because of how hard she was wringing them.

"I went with her." I cut it.

"What?"

"Yeah, I was there when he asked her. He seemed nice enough and she had been talking to him for a couple of weeks now because of a project they were doing together. She said she would but only if I went so I did. i didn't sit with them though and I didn't know they were offering jobs there.

"Did you know she had a date there before?"

"She didn't. She just didn't want to get in trouble with you, her first time was the time she went with George and we went together afterwards. Just the two of us, occasionally George. She has been there alone with him twice now I think but we trust him.

He wasn't buying it. It just knew. _I wish mom were here…_

"What's going on?" _And there she is._

"Did you know Maysilee has been going to lunch with this George?"

"Of course, I thought you knew." My mom lies smoothly. "They have been going there with Maysilee most of the time. He seems like a nice boy from what I've heard. Did you know he wants to be mayor? Honey, isn't it wonderful?"

"Am I the only one who didn't know about this?"

"I'm sorry, dear. I didn't know you didn't know. I was sure I had told you. Could you forgive us, Thomas?"

"The boy is having dinner with us as soon as he's available. I want to meet him."

"I have his number." Lily says and gets up to dial.

"I'm going to bed." My father said.

"I'll catch up with you later." My mom said, pecking his lips.

"Love you, Daddy. Good night." I said as I kissed his cheek."

He grumbled a good night before entering his room.

"Do you think he's upset?" I asked mom.

"He'll get over it."

"You were eavesdropping before you came in, weren't you?" I said, lowering my voice.

"Of course, one must always be prepared."

"You're the best."

"I know." She smiled. I smiled back and kissed her cheek. She pulled me into her embrace as Lily came back in.

"He's coming to dinner tomorrow night. Where'd dad?"

"He went to sleep."

"Thank you." She says as she breathes a sigh of relief. "Both of you. George's prepared for the lie tomorrow. Do you think we'll get caught?"

"Doubt it but if we do, your dad will love him so much, he'll let it pass." That made Lily smile broader and she threw herself around mom.

"Good night, mom." Lily whispered and kissed her cheek before heading off to bed.

"Good night, mom." I said as I squeezed her hand.

"Good night, honey. Love you."

"Love you too." I said before closing thed door to our room.

"I saved your ass." I say to Lily once i sit down on my bed.

"You did." She laughed. "I already thanked you."

"What are sisters for?"

"To bring eachother down and pull eachother's hair when one of them 'borrows' something of the others." She laughs.

"Not us." I say.

I get my pajamas out and crawl into bed. She follows suit and we turn off our lamps.

"Nope, we've got eachother's back." She says once she's settled down.

"Always?" I ask, extending my pinkie finger across the space between our beds.

"Always." She promises as she links her own pinkie through mine. I smile in the dark as i settle into my own bed.

"Good night." I whisper.

"Good night." She whispers back.

I plug in my earphones and go to sleep to my music.

_Haymitch:_

Another hour, another day, another week. Another infinity in this dreadful place. Aunt Sae had helped my mother, even when I didn't want her to. That meant I owe her. So here I am, five in the afternoon and at the hob, washing dishes and bowls. This will be my job until I figure I've paid Sae back enough. She offers to pay me but I turn it down. I'm here to do what I must, not to get any benefits out of it. Sae has put up flyers asking for help, that only incenses me more. How am I supposed to get out of here if others are going to be working here? That just means it takes longer to pay the debt. Longer days, longer weeks, shorter says with my mother and all because of _him_.

"_Woman, where's the damn food?" My dad yelled from the kitchen._

"_It's almost ready." My mother said frantically, coming into the kitchen. _

"_I work all dam day and I can't even get my supper on time!"_

"_I told you it's almost ready." She said as she got out the bowls, cups, and spoons. She served him the stew she had made at the last moment. She didn't have much ingredients for the stew because she had little money. She barely had the time to go buy them because she spent almost the entire day cleaning up the mess dad had made the night before. _

"_Stew again?" He'd bellowed. "I work off my ass each and every single fucking day and all I get is your poor stew?"_

"_That's all I have." She'd say in a tight voice._

"_Do you know how bad this shit is?" He took a slurp and made a sour face. "Taste this shit!" My mother would reach out in a scared and careful manner. Normally this would be the time where he'd yell at her and then go out to drink up what little money he did gain. But tonight things got especially horrid. His hand shot up and dunked her face in the bowl. "Do you see? Do you see how sickly it is? She came up coughing and gagging. He gave no warning. He shoved her against the wall. I didn't think he'd hit her. _I was wrong_._

_He threw a punch at the drywall behind her and made her cry out in fear. She was trembling under his touch, begging him to stop. "Not in front of Haymmy." She begged. "Not in front of your son." _

"_That trash is not my son and you… you're not my wife." He punched her stomach, he slapped her. She tried not to scream, she tried. But she couldn't help it. She cried out, tears streamed down her face. She had begged him to stop, he didn't. He wouldn't. I saw it all; I was frozen in place trembling. She was looking at me, pleading me with her eyes to go hide. It was in that moment that I snapped. I threw myself at my father with all the might an eight year-old had._

"_Don't hit mommy! Don't hit mommy! Stop hitting mommy!" I threw my hardest punches, the hardest I could. It wasn't much. I was malnourished and small. He hit me. He hit me on my arms, on my face, on my stomach. Anywhere he could reach, he hit while my mom screamed hysterically behind him. She ran to the kitchen and I felt joy rush through me. _She's running away._ I thought. _She's getting away_._

_When the black spots starting appearing at the corner of my eyes, she came back and I thought frantically. _No, no, no… _the last thing I saw was the heavy pan hitting my father's head and I felt his grip loosening on me while she hit him repeatedly screaming at the top her lungs. "Leave him alone! Don't touch him, don't you dare touch my son ever again, you bastard! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"_

_I woke up to a soft beeping. My mother was beside me, a bandage around her head. She had her chair pulled up close to my bed-hospital bed I realized a few minutes later- tightly holding my hand._

"_You're awake." She smile, her eyes filled up with tears again._

"_Don't-"I coughed, a coughing that shook my entire fragile body. She softly shushed me, rubbing my back, tears streaming down her face. "Don't cry, mommy." I croaked. "I'll stop coughing. I promise. I'll make the pain go away. Don't cry." She cried harder and clutched me to her chest. I wrapped my thin arms around her and hugged her back just as tightly, ignoring the pounding headache. _I wouldn't tell mommy. I wouldn't tell mommy. _When she let me go, I touched the bandage around her head and let my hand run to her cheek where I wiped away the tears. She took my hand and pressed it against her cheek. _

"_Go to sleep, Haymmy. Rest up." _

"_What about you?" _

"_I'll be alright, baby. I promise. I'll be right here when you wake up. I won't leave you." She promised._

"_I won't leave you, either." I promised back._

_Two days later, Sae came to Ohio and took us back to her house in North Carolina. We stayed with her until mom got a job and moved us to our own small apartment but Sae still helped us."_

I hastily wiped a tear away.

_Stew_. I thought bitterly as I washed the bowls. It's been eight years since then and that memory still haunts me each day, each night. What would have happened if I had never gotten in the way? Would I still have my mom? What would have happened if _she_ never got in the way? Would I still be here? My mother and I have always been there for each other and I don't plan changing it anytime soon. We'll never leave each other. We promised.

"Haymitch, take a break. Have you even done your homework yet?" Sae said as she walked into the kitchen.

"I already did it."

"Then why don't you go spend time with your friends?"

"Don't have any."

"You've done enough. Take the rest of the day off. In fact, take the whole weekend off."

"Sae, I'm doing what I have to."

"Child, how many times must I tell you? You owe me nothing, your mother needed the help, and I gave it to her. We all need a hand sometimes. Especially, your mother after the hell my brother put her through. I hope he rots in jail." She said bitterly. My grip tightened on the bowl I was washing before resuming like I didn't hear her. She eventually gave up and went back to tend her customers.

I didn't need her pity. I didn't need anyone's pity. I knew she would sneak the money to my mom and I would sneak it back. That's the way it went. We all knew what the other would do but we were all too stubborn to stop it. That's the way it went. That's the way I could deal with. I don't need her comments at work to go live my life. My mother is my life and my goal is to protect her. Even though she too sometimes hints that she would like me to make friends and go out sometimes. I'm perfectly fine with the way things are running in my life. I don't need a social life. All I need is my mother's smile. Everyday. And I need is to be the one to put it there.

If anyone takes it down and replaces it with a frown or puts tears on her cheek, they win a free trip to the hospital. And who wouldn't want that?

…

I ended up at home at 9:30 p.m. I didn't want to come back too late; I couldn't stand leaving my mom alone all day. I practically had no time for her. It was school, a small trip home, work, dinner, and bed time.

"Hey." My mom smiles when I hug her from behind. She's washing the dishes. She just got this new house. She owns it and I have my own room. We still have to unpack some things but not many, we don't have many belongings. When I'm done paying my debt, I'll get a real job and buy her small gifts each day, or at least each week.

"Hi, mom. How was your day?"

"It was pretty good. I finished unpacking your boxes. Your room is completely ready.

"Mom," I said seriously. "is that all you did today?"

"No. the bathroom's ready too."

"What about your room."

"I'll get on it tomorrow."

"You know you're sleeping in my bed then, right?"

"Don't be silly. There's plenty of room in the living room."

"But I don't want you to sleep in the living room."

"I'll be fine."

"But I won't."

"At least sleep with me."

She sighed. "Ok."

"Ok?"

"Ok, fine. I'll sleep with you and I'll work on my room tomorrow."

"Great. So what did you make for our late dinner?"

"I made stew." I froze. "I know it's not what you would like." She said without going into detail. "But I think we should change its meaning. You know, like a symbol of starting over again. And to celebrate our new house."

"Your house, you earned it."

"Our house. This stew symbolizes a new beginning. Happiness."

I didn't argue but I also didn't say anything.

She sat down after she served me and smiled to me across our small table. "Ready?" I shrugged but ate anyway. "Mmm… I think it's good don't you think?"

It probably was, if it didn't feel like I was chewing cement. I finished it anyway and forced a smile to my mom when I finished, hoping she would see through it, to the pain and anger that boiled in me because of the memories of that dreadful.

"So it's Friday so I thought maybe we could watch a movie together?"

"Sure. What movie?"

"I picked up a comedy romance." I couldn't help it, I laughed and tried disguising it as a cough, that, she could easily see through. "Hey! I think it might be great if we gave it a chance."

"You've always hated romantic comedies."

"But, we're making a new beginning. We're trying new things, bringing back old ones."

"Ok, fine." I said. "We'll watch your sappy movie.

"It is not sappy!"

"It's a romantic comedy, mom."

She laughed. "Ok, you're right but we'll watch it anyway."

"I'll wash the plates, you washed enough already."

"You did enough around the house already. It's only two bowls and cups. I can handle it."

"You sure?"

"Positive."

"Okay."

I wash up the dishes in less than twenty minutes while she puts the movie on.

I come into the living room and she snuggled under a blanket. I settle next to her and wrap an arm around her.

"Did you use the bathroom already?"

"I don't need to go."

"But you'll want to go later."

"Fine, I'll use the bathroom." I get up and go to the bathroom. I did have to go but not badly. I brushed my teeth and went back to the living room still full of boxes. "How did you manage to set up the TV but you didn't finish your own room?"

"I wanted tonight to be special. It wasn't hard."

"You do so much."

"Except my room."

"Hush and put the movie on." She smiled and pressed play. And the hours of torture began.

…

After a couple of hours, she fell asleep. Her head rested on my shoulder and she was softly snoring. I grinned down at her before taking her in my arms and picking her up. She stirred a little but I rocked her gently, like a mother would her child. I walked to my room and pushed the door opened with my shoulder. I lay her down on my bed. She opened up her eyes this time.

"Close your eyes, mommy." I said as I cover her with my blanket. "Go to sleep. I'll be right with you just let me change." She closed her eyes and nodded. I quickly changed and climbed in with her. "I love you. Good night, mommy." She murmured something and fell to sleep. "I'll be right here when you wake up. I'll always be with you. Always." I promised.


	2. Chapter 2

_Maysilee:_

I woke up to the sound of music blasting and jumped, my hands instinctively going to my ears.

"Good morning, little sis!" Lily laughed. "Rise and shine! Hope you don't mind, I borrowed your iPod to wake you up!"

"Oh, my God, Lily!" I buried myself under the sheets and pulled my pillow over my head. _Live While We're Young _was playing. "Ugh! I hate this song! Why is it even on there?"

"You know I love messing with you!"

"But fucking One Direction?"

"What? They're hot!" I stomped out of bed, skipped the song and turned it down. "Hey!" she complained.

"I'm deleting that later."

"If I let you." She took my iPod and ran out of the room.

"Lily!" I yelled after her. "I'll get you!" I ran after her and chased her around the house. She laughed mirthlessly while waving my iPod in the air mockingly. "I swear I'll kill you!"

"If you catch me first!" she laughs.

"Oh, I'll catch you! You know you run out of air easily!"

"Only inside!"

"Where are we, Lily?"

She halts behind the sofa. "Oh, shit." I take my opportunity, probably the only one and jump over the couch knocking her down on the carpet. We wrestle for the iPod. She holds it tightly in an iron grip while I struggle for it. I finally free it from her grasp.

"Aha!" I hold it up in victory, pinning her down. "I got it!"

"What is going on in here?" mom asks as she enters the living room. I look back at her, distracted.

Lily snatches it from my hand and pushes me off her. "Got it!" She runs and hides behind mom.

"Damn it, Lily!"

"Ah. Language, young lady." mom says.

"She put One Direction on my iPod."

Lily laughs breathlessly from behind mom. "What's wrong with One Direction?" mom asks?

"Nothing, I just. I just don't like them."

"Why?" Lily whined "They're so-"

"Hot. I know, I know." I was really getting annoyed. "To be fair, I like at least three of their songs."

"I'll take it. You'll fall for them, some day."

"In your dreams"

"Ok girls, let's have breakfast. You're father won't be back until dinner so we're going to have a girls' day." Lily groaned and I pinched her.

"Ow!"

"Maysilee." My mom chastised.

"She deserved it."

My mother sighed and headed into the kitchen. As soon as she crossed the door way, Lily hit me.

"You're so mean!"

"I'm mean?"

"How 'bout you with mom?"

"But it's just weird. She saved your ass yesterday, why are you being so mean?"

"I know, you're right. You're right. I just- I don't know. I'm just worried."

"About George?"

She rolled her eyes and buried her hands in her face. "Yeah." She mumbled, her voice muffled by her hands. "I'm worried dad won't like him."

"Why wouldn't he?" She looks up.

"I don't know." she sighed. "I'm also worried the truth will come out."

"There it is." I would be worried to if the people who are supposed to know about him don't- meaning mom and me. "Well, girls' day will be awesome. You can tell us all about him."

Her face lit up at that. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Aren't I always? Not about One Direction. Oh, will you let that go already?" I said exasperated.

"No because they're talented and gorgeous!"

"And non-appealing to me."

"Not to mention the beautiful affect they have on their fans."

"They are way better than Justin Bieber. I'll give you that."

"Uh, yeah, obviously!"

"Can we not talk about this?"

"Fine, but you'll love them. I'll make you love them."

"OH, MY GOD! GIVE IT UP ALREADY! AND GIVE ME MY IPOD!"

I huffed my way to the kitchen leaving a laughing Lily behind. _And to think I do things for that girl._

_Haymitch:_

I woke up to my mom singing in the kitchen. My stomach rumbled at the smell of eggs. Hopefully we wouldn't have stew. I made my way to the kitchen and wrapped my arms around my mom. She started and gasped. I rested my chin on her shoulder. "Oh, Haymmy. You scared me!"

"Good morning, mommy."

"What are you doing out of bed? It's only 7. You've had a rough week. Rest some."

"But I'm hungry." She laughed and patted my cheek affectionately.

"The omelet is almost ready. Do you want coffee?"

"Sure."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Great, actually."

"Good. Oh, and I called Sae." My stomach dropped. "You're staying home today." I groaned. "You're helping me finish unpacking."

"Fine."

"And then we're going shopping."

"What?!"

"You barely have clothes. I've paid two month's rent in advance. We're getting you shoes too."

"Mo-om." I whined. "but-"

"No buts we're going shopping, period."

"I'm a guy!" I said exasperated. "I hate shopping. Detest it even."

"But I'm your mom and I love you. It's also my job to torture you. Like a normal mom." _Yeah, except we're not really _normal. I didn't say that, obviously but I could see how much she wanted to start over, she had shown it enough last night.

"And it's my job to oppose and whine."

"Fair enough but in the end I win."

"Fine."

"Here you go." She placed a plate with the omelet in front of me. "I'll get you coffee."

"Thanks mom."

"You're welcome, baby."

_Maysilee:_

"What do you think of this one?" Lily asked, holding up a dress. "I want both dad and George to like it." It was a light blue dress, knee-length. It was simple actually. The sleeves covered the top of her shoulders.

"It's great." I said. "Perfect, actually. "You should also wear your hair loose."

"Thanks. Um, flats or heels?"

"Definitely flats. White or light blue."

"Great. Thanks."

"Sure."

"What are you wearing?"

"I don't know. I'll probably just throw something on."

"_Throw something on_?" she asked incredulously.

"Yeah. This is about you, not me."

"That doesn't mean you can't look pretty." She sighed and started going through clothes. "Ooohh, here's a pretty one." She took a knee-length flowery dress with spaghetti straps. "You should wear your hair in a pony-tail. And sandals, you should wear sandals."

"Ok."

"Ok?"

"Yeah, ok."

"You don't like it."

"No, no. I love it. It's perfect. I'm just not interested about how I look, this is about you. I can tell you really like him. I want this to be special, for you, not for me. I know it seems difficult, having your boyfriend over for dinner so your dad will get to know him. You're amazing and if he cares about you the way you care about him, there's no reason for dad not to like him. He wants his daughters to be happy and from what I've heard he's wonderful. Plus, he's already been invited to dinner, however it was he got there, it's a big step. Okay?" She smiled and nodded.

"Okay, thank you. You're… amazing, you're truly amazing."

"I know." I quipped. "So are you. George is really lucky. Now tell me about him. Details."

"Well, we-"

"Hey." mom appeared in the aisle. "These dresses are so modern but I found one with my taste. Do you think one of you can find shoes to match this?" She held up a cream-colored dress, fancy but simple.

"Yeah, I'll go." I offered. "Meanwhile Lily can prepare you for tonight."

"Great." They both said.

"Ok, I'll be back."

I headed to the shoe section with my mom's size-an eight- and started looking for cream colored shoes that would the dress. There was a solitary woman in the same aisle and… her son it seemed.

"What do you think of these, Haymmy?" The boy-or guy, he was my age- looked up and I was struck by how striking he was. Olive skin, a messy tousle of hair, he seemed to care not for but it suited him. And his eyes… his eyes were dark brown. They were beautiful. He looked my way, and quickly averted my glance, turning my body away so he wouldn't see me blush.

"I don't know." I heard him say. I decided he had a hot voice. Deep but not too deep and kind of…silky was the best word to describe it. "Do _you_ like them?"

"Yeah, I guess but can I afford them?"

"I don't know let me see."

I waited, pretending to be looking for shoes.

"Sixty dollars."

"Oofh, that's a bit too much and we still need to get your shoes." _Too much? _

"Mom, I told you, I don't need anything. Get something for yourself."

"Haymitch." she said sternly. _Haymitch_. "A few t-shirts and a couple of jeans isn't enough. Not to mention your sneakers are pretty much falling apart."

_Haymitch. _I knew that name but I didn't know the owner, well nit until now. He broke a guy's nose last year. Brutus had bullied him for the entire school year but Haymitch always ignored him until he made a comment about his mother. He snapped, punched him in the face and broke his nose. The impact itself was enough to make Brutus, top jock, collapse on the ground. Brutus doesn't go to our school anymore, though. He went to a different school to finish his senior year. Not that he didn't deserve it. Everyone knew Brutus he hit on every attractive girl that crossed his way, whether she was into it or not. He hit on me once, it was gross. I never got the pleasure to meet Haymitch though. I probably never will- not officially anyway. He must really care about his mom though to defend her like that and go shopping with her instead of hanging out with his friends-if he had any.

I discretely took a hundred dollar bill out of my purse and concealed it in my hand. I searched quickly for some shoes that my mom would like and found the perfect pair a few boxes away I calmly took them and pretended to keep looking for another pair, after faking that I couldn't find any, I left the aisle and quickly deposited the bill into the woman's purse before casually walking away, at least I hope it looked casual, in a hurriedly.

_Haymitch:_

"Ok, I think I like these." mom said. "And I can afford them. Do you like them?"

I was looking down the aisle at the blonde girl who has just left; she seemed to be in a hurry. It looked suspicious.

"Haymmy." My head snapped towards my mother. "Are you ok?"

"Fine."

"You sure? Do you know that girl? She was pretty, you were looking after her. Does she go to your school?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah. I thought she looked familiar."

"Do you like her?"

"What? No, of course not, I barely know her but anyway, did you find your shoes?"

"I did actually." She held up a black pair, they seemed comfortable enough.

"Do you like them?"

"Yes."

"Great."

"Now it's your turn."

"Mom."

"Haymitch we went over this, and anyway I already bought some clothes for myself last week. They were on sale, I have enough. You, however, don't. So let's go."

Half an hour later, we found black sneakers that I allowed her to but for me and that would last a while if I took care of them.

"You sure you like these, baby."

I forced a smile and hugged her. "Yes, mom. I'm sure, thank you."

"You're welcome. Now for your clothes." I groaned. "Come on, come on. Then you can help me around the house."

"Ok, fine."

We went through tons of t-shirts and jeans. I ended up getting five t-shirts, five dollars each, on sale. Three pairs of jeans and a jacket.

"Ok, can we go now?"

"Ok, you did your part now it's my turn, yes, we can go." I helped her carry the clothes and the shoes. "Ok. Now, where do you pay? Aha, I found it." I followed her and helped her lay the clothes on the counter.

"Hello, how are you today?" the lady asked.

"I'm fine, thank you." My mother replied politely. "And yourself?"

"Eh, busy day but I'll manage."

My mom gave short laugh as she looked through her purse for the money. Her brow furrowed and she took out some bills.

"What's wrong?" I asked, remembering the blonde girl from earlier. "Are you missing anything?"

Her brow furrowed deeper as she shook her head. "No, I-" She looked confused. "I just- I don't remember having one-hundred dollar bill in my purse. My heart sank along with the truth. The girl didn't steal money. She gave some. And not just some. One-hundred dollars. I ran my hand through my hair as I tried not to freak out. _Why did she do that? _

"One twenty, please." The lady said.

"Oh, well better yet." My mom said. As she handed the lady the hundred dollar bill-which I prayed was real. To my relief-or horror, it was. My mom handed her another twenty and smiled and she thanked the cashier and exited the store. "This calls for ice cream!" She said cheerily. I smiled back trying to push the nagging thought away from my head that I now owed a pretty blonde who had no business in giving money to my mother.

"I'm getting us chocolate. I love chocolate." She said.

"Ok, I would like mines in a cup."

"Non-sense, you're getting a cone."

"But, mommy. I don't like a cone."

She stared at him sternly, "Haymitch-" she began.

I fake pouted at her. "Please, mommy."

She tried to hold his stare but failed. "Ok." She laughed. "Ok. You win." She put her hands up in surrender. You win."

"Ok, can I go to the bathroom?" I asked.

"Sure, hurry on back."

I smiled at her and made my way towards the restroom signs, feeling bills in my pocket. I looked back to make sure she wasn't watching me and then took a different route. As I entered the store, I searched the store for the women's clothes section and headed there, searching for a blonde head. I found none.

I cursed under my breath as. Then a thought hit me. I made my way towards the shoe section. I decided to look in the six or seven area- there was no way she was a size eight.

There she was. I made way towards her and stood behind her. She turned in surprise, and then smiled.

"Can I help you?" she asked innocently, I faltered as I realized how pretty she actually was but I regained my posture.

"Actually," I said. "you can't. I took out the four out of the six bills of twenty I had won in school last week. "We don't need your charity." I said coldly. "Take your money." I harshly slipped the bills into her hand- it was soft. _Damn it, Haymitch_. _Hold yourself together- _and walked away.

"Wait!" I heard her say but I ignored her and walked I way in a fast pace.

When I found my mom, she already had two ice-creams. One in a cone and another in a cup, thank God she didn't use the opportunity to order me a cone.

"There you are." She said as she saw me approach. "I was getting worried." I didn't tell her she didn't need to be.

"The line was long, sorry." I kissed her cheek. "Thanks." I said as I took the cup from her.

"Welcome. Now let's go finish that house."

_Maysilee:_

"Hey." I said as I saw Maysilee come back. She looked sort of lost. "Did you, um, find what you were looking for?"

Her head snapped towards me. "What? Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I found what I was looking for. How about you?"

"Eh, I have sandals that match the dress perfectly at home."

"Ok, cool."

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I-" she held up bills of twenty. "This guy came up to me and said he didn't need my charity and he gave me this."

My eyes widened. "How did he look?"

"He was pretty tall, brown hair, brown eyes-"

"Olive skin?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, my God."

"What?"

"I- this guy. Haymitch-"

"Haymitch? Didn't he break Brutus' nose last year?"

"Yeah- How much did he give you?"

"One-hundred."

"Shit. His mom- I don't know. I guess I felt bad for her. She didn't have enough money to buy sixty dollar shoes."

"May, not everyone can afford it. Maybe she had a big family."

"No, I'm sure it's just her and her son."

"How do you know? She only ever talked about him. He doesn't have much clothes and it seemed like they were pretty close."

"Maybe he was her favorite."

"But he doesn't have any siblings that I know of and everyone knows he doesn't have a dad."

"How would you know he doesn't have siblings?"

"I'm sure we would hear about it."

"May, the guy keeps to himself. He glares at anyone who crosses his way. Why would he talk about his family?"

"I don't know. I just-"

"Ok, look it doesn't matter. What are we going to do about this?" she held up the bills.

"Nothing I guess."

"Ok, well. Let's just forget this happened" she said, handing me the bills. "and let's go find mom."

"Ok." I'm just not sure I _could_ forget.

_Haymitch:_

"Here?" I had asked my mom for the fifteenth time.

"Um, oh you know what just leave it there." She had finally gotten tired of the couch and not finding a proper place for it. Well, there was a place for it but she refused to believe it.

"Mom, it's fine there."

"Oh, I don't know Haymmy."

"Sure it is. See, you can put the book shelf here, next to the sofa to easily get a book and the TV goes perfectly across the room. You can leave the coffee table in front of the couch and the small carpet can go between the TV and the coffee table."

"You're right. You're right." She said then paused and I was afraid she was going to find another flaw to my idea but all she said was, "You know what? That does work perfectly! I should have trusted you with this. After all, my room was mostly your doing and it looks fabulous!" I smiled. "Now let's get the rest of furniture place so we can organize the bookshelf and my closet."

"Ok."

"Ready?" she asked as we each took a side of the book shelf.

"Yeah. I was thinking maybe I could organize the bookshelf while you organized your closet."

"That sounds great." She said as we set down the bookshelf. "Oohf, that was harder than I thought." She said as she fixed in place.

"Yeah, I'll place the table for the TV in place while you put the coffee table and the carpet in place. Then you can help me with the TV."

"Great."

"Ok."

"Let's do this."

I picked up the medium table/drawer we used for the TV to the front of the room and slid it into place while my mom finished lining up the carpet.

"Ok, you ready to get the TV and DVD player ready?"

"Sure."

"Ok." She took one side and I took another. "One. Two. Three."

We heaved and placed it on the table.

"Ok, now the fun part. We get to set up the TV and DVD player." I groaned.

…

After thirty minutes of figuring out where the right cables go, we finally get to organizing in our perspective places. I'm ordering books in alphabetical order when I come across a big photo album that I hadn't seen in ages. It was red velvet, worn at the edges. I don't know what pushed me to do it but I started to go through it. The pages seemed worn, not like nobody had touched in years but like someone had spent countless times turning its pages. I went through them; most of them were pictures of me as a small child. I clutched the pages tightly as haunting memories came back; the hit of a hand after a drunken night but the most painful hit being watching my mom's ear every single day.

I tuned the page and the face I feared the most for half of my life stares back at me. He seems happy with an arm thrown around my mother's shoulder, a three-year old me on her knee. She was smiling here and she looked younger, the way she did when she slept. For the first time in my life I see the resemblance between the man who was supposed to be my father and me; his long lashes, his olive skin, even his smile, as if I didn't despise it already. I have his hair too, not my mother's light brown one. A chip off the old block. I hated it.

I hate it.

I _despise_ it.

I quickly turned the pages of the album, searching for his face in any other pages. After finding none, I slam the album shut and stuff it somewhere in the bookshelf, vowing not to ever open it again.

"Mom!" I call out. "Mom, I'm done!"

She doesn't respond and I automatically run into her room and relax when I see her leaning on her bed, a few of her shirts scattered on the floor, the rest of them in hangers. I sigh and lift her onto her bed. Then I hang up the few shirts she had left and turn off the lights before closing her bedroom door and going to mine.

_Maysilee:_

"Do you need any help with your hair?" I ask Lily.

"Should I curl it?"

"Nah. Straight seems better but let me see." I got a stool and sat her down on it in front of the mirror. I got a slip of her hair and started doing a small braid. I finished that one, tied it up, and did two more. "Hold this." I said as I handed her the ends. I brought her bangs forward, tied back the rest of her hair, thought better of it and let it loose. "Do you have a clip?" she handed me one and I took the three small braids and clip them to her loose hair, separated them a bit to look like chains. "There."

"Oooh, cool thanks. Now it's your turn."

"I'm just putting it in a pony tail."

"Can I do it?"

"Ok, fine."

"Yay! Ok, now sit down." I rolled my eyes but obliged. She took a brush and started brushing my hair back. She left lock out of the pony tail and tied it back. She took the curler out of the dresser, turned it on, and waited for it to be hot enough. "Ok, now back to the guy." I groaned. "So he goes to our school but neither of us have any classes with him."

"What does it matter?"

"He's hot."

"Lily, you are NOT going to set me up with someone who obviously now hates me."

"I'm sure he doesn't _hate_ you. Plus it's only November. We can still do something."

"Why are you so stuck up on this?"

"Think about it." she insisted.

"I have. It gives me a headache. I rather not think about it."

"And anyway, you're the one who told me I should forget about it. Why are you so stuck up on this?"

"I don't know. He seems-"

"Cold."

"Yes, but I believe he isn't just like that. You said he was close to his mom. That's rare. And wonderful."

"The curler is ready."

"I'm just saying." She said while curling the loose lock she left. "Maybe he just needs the right girl to get him t smile."

"He has his mom."

"Ok first, that's a woman and second, what will happen when he's mom is no longer there?"

"Oh, my God, Lily. I'm done. End of discussion. No more, I swear I'll slap you."

"Fine, fine. There you go."

"Thanks, now let's go get the table ready."

I got up and followed Lily out the door and into the kitchen.

"Oh, girls. Great, Lily can you put down the plates?"

"Sure."

"Ok, Maysilee, set up the silverware and tell your sister to come back for the cups."

"Ok, what did you make?"

"Lasagna. You can come back for it when you're done."

"Ok, cool."

"Hey, Lily, when you're done with that, can you go get the cups?"

"Sure."

"Hey, Lily."

I looked up. "Hey, daddy." I smiled. "How was work?"

"Same as always. I'm going to shower then I'll join you."

"K, daddy."

I finished setting up the silverware and went back into the kitchen as Lily came out.

"K, Lily. It's cooled down a bit but be careful."

"Ok, mom. What are we drinking?"

"Just sprite."

"Perfect. Is that all you need?"

"Yeah, I'll bring out the side dishes myself."

"But you haven't even changed."

"I'll have time."

"No you won't. Go change, we'll do the rest."

"Fine."

"Oh, and Dad's home."

"Is he showering?"

"Mhmm."

"Ok, I'll go change. Thank you."

"Welcome."

"Whoa, May. You need help?" Lily asked me as I came out with the lasagna.

"Nah, I'm good. Go get the side dishes."

"Ok."

There was a knock at the door and I went to answer it. Behind the door was a medium-height guy with curly hair, glasses, and light brown eyes holding a container in one hand and flowers in the other. George, I assumed.

"Hey, you must be Maysilee." he said shyly. "I'm George.

"So I figured." I answered as I shook his hand. "Come on in, my parents are getting ready, we're just setting up the table."

He came in, giving a nod of thanks. "Can I help?"

"Thank you, how sweet but we're almost done."

"Oh." He blushed and I wondered how he ever managed the courage to ask Lily out.

"George!" Lily exclaims as soon as she sees him.

He turns towards her and smiles. She sets down the bowl she was holding with salad and wraps her arms around him.

"Uh," he begins. "I really can't hug you right now. I'm holding your flowers in one hand and pie in the other.

"Oh!" she pulls away. "Of course, let me help you with that.

"No, I got it." She gives him a look.

"Just take her flowers."

She rolls her eyes but takes them anyway. "Fine." She pecks his lips. "Thank you." She walks away and it's so quite that I can hear water running in the kitchen and Lily humming. I look at him with an arched eyebrow.

"I, uh, where should I put this?" he asks, holding out the pie.

"I got it." I say as I take it from him. "Thanks. " he nod and starts swaying back and forth. I clear my throat. "So, um, how long have you liked Lily?" I glance at him. He's scratching his neck, another one of his nervous habits I guess. He's not unattractive, I soon notice though. He's not built but he's not scrawny. He has a kind face that reminds me of a teddy bear, especially with his curls. His glasses frame his face nicely and I can see why he caught Lily's eyes. Not to mention he was also really sweet. He is perfect for her, especially after her shitty ex-boyfriend. That boy wanted to make you yell, _"Hey, say hi to your intestines for me since your head's that far up your ass!"_

"Well, we started working on a project together. She was really smart, is, I mean, I guess I liked that she took it seriously but could laugh and make me laugh at the appropriate times. It also wasn't hard to miss how pretty she was, well, is. It made me nervous but she was easy to hang around and she made me laugh, which made me forget about my nerves. It made me look forward to seeing her but my heart always sped up whenever I saw her. I knew she had a lot of admirers, many of which were in sports and stuff so when she asked me out I was surprised. I couldn't believe it; maybe I had heard wrong or maybe she was joking. I asked her if she was serious and she laughed. I decided I love her laugh so even if I shouldn't have, I said yes."

_Wait what?_

"She asked you out?"

"Uh, yeah. Crazy, right?"

"Well, not really." I said. "It's just she told my dad _you_ had asked _her_ out."

"Oh." He said with evident surprise on his face. "Well, it's good I know that for tonight, right?"

"Yeah."

"May, did you finish?"

"Huh?" Lily was standing in the door way with the flowers George had given her in a vase with water. "Oh, yeah."

"Um, can you move the lasagna aside to set these down?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Thanks." She set the vase down after I did what she said.

"I'll get the last thing." I said. I went onto the kitchen. I got the mashed potatoes my mom made. They were the best, just as good as the main dish. I came back into the living room. My parents were already there and my mother had George in a tight embrace that may suffocate him.

"It's so good to meet you." She said. "Lily always talks about you. You've made her so happy so I love you already." The only thing stopping her from welcoming him into the family right that second, if she hadn't already, was my dad clearing his throat.

My mom let him go and George extended his hand. "Uh." He cleared his throat. "Nice to meet you, sir. I'm George Undersee."

My dad accepted his hand and gave it a quick shake with such a hard expression that I thought George might pass out but he stood his ground. "So I've heard. My name is Thomas Donner. You may call me Mr. Donner or sir."

"Yes, sir." This dinner was going nowhere if George fainted or threw up so I went up to dad.

"Dad," I said in what I hoped was a low stern voice, almost a whisper. "The table's ready." I said gently.

He nodded once. He sat at the head of the table. I sat on one of his sides and motioned for Lily to sit across from me. She quickly obliged. I gave mom a look and she quickly understood, sitting next to Lily and across from George. I sent him an apologetic glance before letting dad continue.

This was going to be an interesting dinner…

…

For someone who was really shy, or maybe that's what dad like about him (among many other things), he got dad to laugh though he tried to fight off even a smile. He told us about his clumsiness and how he had spilled liquid, harmless liquid of course (at least we hoped) countless times in science. He told us about his crazy teachers, those he didn't share with Lily. He was actually really good with jokes and any question my dad seemed to throw at him, he answered in the blink of an eye.

Dad had talked to him about being mayor. He said he was hoping to be North Carolina's mayor and have a house not far from or in Charlotte so Lily wasn't going anywhere. That seemed to put dad on ease and he congratulated him for his goal.

"Wait, wait." My dad was saying between laughing and trying to get air. "You dad did what and blamed you for it?"

"Yeah, he was fixing up the car. My mother had told him not to since he was, is, no good at it but he wouldn't listen. When he thought it was ready, he decided to take it out for a drive test but he had messed up the steering wheel God knows how and when he steered right, it went left and he crashed into my mom's pear tree. She was fuming of course but he said that I had done something to the car even though I hadn't touched the car since he announced he was going to fix it."

"Did your mom believe him?"

"No, she was the one who told me to stay away from the car and so I did."

My dad laughed again. And Lily and my mom couldn't help but laugh along. I just smiled because honestly, I didn't find it amusing at all. I just felt bad for his mom, and his dad, and the tree.

By the end of dinner, dad was all smiles and if mom didn't welcome him into the family soon, he would.

"This pie is amazing, George. Who made it?" mom asked.

"My mom, she like to bake a lot so she's gotten pretty good at it, she's the reason I can't stay fit." She laughed and I glanced at Lily, she was smiling at George, her cheeks were rosy from laughing so much and because it had gotten really warm since the beginning of dinner, a thin sheet of sweat covered the back of my neck and George's hair was curling up even more. I glanced at dad and he was smiling too. I wasn't really needed for anything anymore. At first I just smiled at Lily to reassure her, then I calmed down dad, then I helped mom not make a fool of herself but everyone was getting along now and all I could do was smile.

The pie paid for it, though. It really was good and it was nice getting to see their family happy and laughing, her dinners were usually boring, usually with Lily, always talking about Lily. In fact, it was rare that they hadn't mentioned Lily until I brought her up the night they told me about the job.

I'm fine without talking about me. I've never liked being the center of attention, it was always awkward and it never seemed like an appealing idea to talk about yourself. Lily was different though, she was, is, the golden child. She always had trophies for sports growing up, and then she had boys. I had books. Not that I'm complaining. I would choose staying home and reading over going to a party any day.

"Well, son, I'm glad you came tonight." My dad said, snapping me back to attention, I hadn't even noticed it had gotten quiet. "I have to work early in the morning so I'll head up to bed. You can chat with my wife while my daughters help clean up then you can say goodnight to Lily. But don't take too long." he added sternly.

"Yes, sir." George said. "Thanks for having me. Good night."

"Night." Dad said. He pecked my mom's lips. "Good night, honey."

"Good night."

"Good night, daddy." Lily and I said in unison as he waved on his way up the stairs to his room.

"Ok, let's get this place cleaned up." My mother says.

"I'll help." George says. It's not a question or an offering, it's a statement and I begin to think that George is not as hesitant or sheepish as I thought.

"Thank you, how sweet." mom says.

"I'll wash the plates." I say as he enters the kitchen.

"Oh, speaking of which," mom says. "Lily and you are going to that stew place to apply for a job this weekend tomorrow."

"Ok."

"Without me."

"Fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be?"

"Oh, I don't know."

"Mom, we'll be fine."

"Ok." She says. She hesitated and then spoke up again "Your father and I were planning to stay home alone together tomorrow." I froze.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he would never admit that, though. He only has morning shift tomorrow."

"Ok, cool. We'll leave you to it." I knew what "staying home alone together" meant. So did Lily, she shuddered as she went into the kitchen to drop more plates in the sink.

"Go rest, mom. We'll take care of this."

"Thank you." She says with relief. "Good night."

"Good night." I said, quickly getting in the kitchen before she thought hugging me.

"Does she really have to let us know?" Lily's face was slightly green.

"Better than running into them in the middle of it."

"_Gross._"

"I know. Now can you shut up?"

"I need some air."

"Can you at least bring in the rest of the things I need to wash?"

She groaned. "Fine. Can you help me speed it up, babe?"

"Uh, sure." He left with her to the dining space.

_Lily:_

_Why would she even mention that? Can't she just make up some lame excuse to keep us out of the house like normal parents? There really weren't any secrets in this family. Well…_

"Lily?"

"Huh?" my head snapped up to George.

"You ok? I've been saying your name for a while now."

"Oh, sorry. Yeah, I'm fine. I just- my mom- never mind, you don't want to know.

"Ok… well, what do you want me to do with the leftovers?"

"Oh, um. Just leave them on the counter and I'll put them in smaller containers and put them fridge."

"Ok." He went to the kitchen doorway before he turned around. "Lil?"

"Hmm?" he took my waist and pressed his lips to mine. I gasped but he just held me tighter while placing the container behind me on the table and grabbing the other side of my waist just as tightly. I couldn't help the moan that escaped me, causing me to wind my fingers in his hair and grasp it tightly. He was tentatively running his tongue over my lips but I pulled away slightly. "My sister's in the next room." I gasped.

He let go of me, his lips flushed, probably not unlike mine. "Right, sorry. I just- I'm sorry I don't know what possessed me."

"I wasn't complaining." I smiled. I stepped closer, bringing him into an embrace. He winced and I pulled away with a confused expression.

"I-uh." He glanced down and his face flushed. I follow his gaze and my own face turns crimson.

"Oh." I pulled away.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean- Oh God, I just got your dad to like me and you probably hate me now."

He looked so adorable and I couldn't fight the excitement I felt too.

_And_ _the bulge was large… _

So I didn't think, I just stepped forward and pressed my lips against his, my hands lying flat on his chest. It was his turn to gasp but I pulled away before I made things worse, or better, depending on the way you see it.

"It's ok." I whispered. "I liked it."

"Y-you did?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes." His eyes widened. "I may or may not have gotten excited too."

He groaned before pushing me with his body till I hit the edge of the table, where his fingers gripped tightly. "You have no idea." he said breathlessly, "what you do to me."

"Maybe one day you could show me."

"Really?"

I bit my lip. "Yes. But not today." I gently rested on his chest until he took a step back. "I should probably get the leftovers to the kitchen while you calm down."

He nodded and I headed into the kitchen.

"What took you so long?" Maysilee asked me. "I'm washing the last plate already and I'm all done with the cups and silverware."

"Oh, sorry. I- uh, got distracted."

"_Got distracted_?"

"Do you know where mom keeps the containers for leftovers?"

She got them and handed them to me. "Lily," she said sternly.

"I'll tell you later."

She scowled but said, "Fine."

In that moment George came into the kitchen with the rest of empty bowls. _Well, that was fast…_

I bit my lips while he brushed by me and I looked at him, he blushed causing me to smile.

…

Maysilee had headed to bed. The table was clean and it was just George and I in the doorway.

"Thank you." I said after kissing him.

"For what?"

"For being amazing."

He smiled.

"My dad loves you."

"I'm glad he does. I was sure I was going to pass out from the stares and glares he was giving me."

"I have to admit I was worried."

"So was I."

"Thanks for coming."

"I'm glad I did."

"Me too."

"Can I kiss you?"

I bit my lip and stayed silent for a little while.

"If the answer if going to be no then please stop biting your lip because I might not ever ask permission ever again."

I bit a bit harder. "You don't have to ask." I said before pressing my lips to his.

He groaned and it was almost enough for me to explode right there and then. "I asked to kiss you not for you to kiss me." He said against my lips. "Not that I'm complaining."

I laughed and wrapped my arms around his neck. He groaned again and I decided I could hear the groan all day for the rest of my life. His kisses turned feverish and I responded just as eagerly as he pushed me against the wall. He swiped his tongue on my lower lip and let my own meet his. It was like electricity. It set a spark in me. I decided there was no better feeling in the world, except maybe of his hands running over my sides. However good that felt he surprised me with what he did next.

He hitched me up and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he groaned deeper. He ran his hands over my thighs, going under my dress but never going _too_ high. My moans were muffled by his mouth until his lips left mine and moved to my neck. He kissed my throat before pressing his tongue to it.

"How hard do you think it'll be to hide if I mark you?"

I didn't exactly care. I wanted to let everyone know that I was his and he was mine. Unfortunately, my father wouldn't be happy.

"Very."

He groaned in frustration before returning his lips to mine. "Shit." He cursed. "I wanted to so badly."

"I wanted you to too." I laughed. He pressed me up farther and his excitement touched me there and it was impossible to ignore the way it made my eyes roll to the back of my head. I involuntary bucked my hips and we both moaned.

"W-we should stop."

I nodded in agreement and he let me go but kept me steady as I unlocked my legs from his waist. We were both breathing heavily.

"I have never done that." He said breathlessly.

My eyes widened like saucers. "What?"

"Yeah." He laughed.

"I've had a few girlfriends before but I shared nothing more than a few kisses with each of them.

"Why would you do it with me?"

"I-I don't know. I guess you just affect me in a way where I can't help myself." He laughed while scratching the back of his neck."Is that weird?"

"Kind of." I admitted. "You've never been excited before?"

"Uh, well yeah. I'm a teenager but I had never gotten excited in front of a girl before."

"Have you-" I gulped even though my throat was dry. I shouldn't ask but I wanted to, very badly so. "Have you ever t-touched yourself?"

His eyes widened. "I-uh." He gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing. "Uh, yeah. Have you?"

"Yes." I breathed.

"This isn't help me to calm me down."

"I'm sorry."

"I should go."

"You should."

"I don't want to go."

"Don't leave yet."

"We can't do anything."

"Let's not. I have an idea."

"What?"

"Go home but when you get into bed, tell me what you are doing. B-by thinking of me."

His eyes widened again but he nodded and pressed a small kiss to my lips. "I will."

"Ok."

"Ok."

And then he left and I went into my room hoping May would be asleep.

No such luck.

"Details." She spat as soon as I sat on my bed. She was already in bed. I sighed as I took out my pajamas to change into.

"He kissed me."

"I knew it. And?..."

"And what?" I snapped.

"Calm down, sassy pants. Though by your flustered look, that's going to be kind of hard, just like he was."

I threw a pillow at her and hid my face in my hands. "Oh, God."

She laughed and then said, "I'm just messing with you. I told you I would get you back."

"Ok, ok, you win."

"I know. Good night, sis." I just ignored her and started to braid my hair when my phone buzzed on my bed and my heart beat faster. I finished quickly and jumped into bed.

_Hey, I'm home._

_Where are you?_

_In bed now._

_So are we really sexting?_

"_Only if you want to._

_I do._

_Ok, you know I'm still hard. I couldn't stop thinking about you on the ride home._

I muffled a moan into my pillow.

_We haven't even started and you're already going to be the end of me._

_If you don't end me first. What are you wearing?_

_A sleeping robe._

_You have no idea how much worse that made me, or better._

_:) what are you wearing?_

_Just boxers._

I bit my hand to muffle another moan and prayed with all my might that Maysilee was listening to music.

_That made me soaked_

_Oh, fuck. I can just imagine you. You're so hot._

_So are you. What are you doing?_

_Stroking myself._

I couldn't stand it any longer. I slipped my hand under my robe and pushed my underwear to my thighs. I let my index finger play at my clit.

_You? _He sent as an afterthought.

_Same_

_Oh, God._

_Are you wet?_

_Soaked._

_What do you want me to do?_

_Think of me when you pump faster._

_Can you think of me while you finger yourself._

_I already am._

_Oh, fuck. Give me sec._

_I need one too._

I let my index and middle finger go inside me as I moaned louder into the pillow, my thrusts getting faster while I panted with a mouth watering image of him hovering over me. "Oh," I moaned. "_Shit_." I shut my eyes and clamped my legs together while an orgasm overtook my whole body.

_Have you came?_

_Yes._

_Fuck._

_My word exactly_

_Haha _

_Good night_

_Good night :)_

I fell into an effortless sleep with his smile in my head and his blush.

**A/N Wow, that was fast. I have no idea how sexting goes so I hope I wrote it well. Sorry not sorry. I hope I didn't make any of you uncomfortable with the parent thing *Evil cackle* No, but really, I'm sorry about the whole parent thing I was just drabbling because I had nothing, I mean nothing on my mind to write and I was getting frustrated because I was already delayed on an update and EOGs and EOCs and finals and ugh… Not the best way to fight writer's block. So sorry but hey Lily and George getting a bit steamy… it was a bit hot in the Donner dinner though. Aww… and Haymitch. What do you think of our lovely Abernathy? Yay! Some people are reading! I apologize for all the dialogue. For some reason, I can't work as well with AUs but I promise I will get better in the storyline. I was going to do only Haymitch and Maysilee point of view but I think other POVs now and then are going to be fun. In case you're wondering, I had done a second chapter in Haymitch's POV but I moved it to the prologue. Thanks for reading!**


	3. Chapter 3

_Haymitch:_

I woke up the next morning and my mom was still asleep. I decided not to wake her up since all this moving must have been tiring for her and went to the kitchen. I took out a bowl, which I winced at after taking it, a spoon, milk, and corn flakes. Not the best breakfast but I wasn't really hungry. I ate in silence the only noise being the crunching of the flakes. I still had a project to finish. I had done everything except the one page reflection-_why was that even important?_

Mrs. Flickerman could easily see what I learned with the damn project.

I decided to finish it and if my mom was still not awake by then, I would head on to Sae's. It was bad enough I had taken the day off yesterday. Two days in a row was unbearable.

A reflection is about the easiest things you can do, as long as you learned something, but also one of the most boringest – if that's a word. After fifteen minutes, I had completed a page. I saved it on my flash drive to go and print later before I went to Sae's. My mom was still not awake so I did a quick note. _Went to work. Love you._

I kind of felt bad not saying goodbye but for that I would wake her and there was no stopping her from preventing me to go to work.

She might need the car throughout the day for food shopping-which wouldn't hurt our pantry or refrigerator. I decided to write her a note not to forget to buy food and with that, I went to the bus stop to ride to another bus stop to take a bus that drops me a block away from Sae's.

_Maysilee:_

I woke up the next morning to silence, which was a nice for a change but it was time for revenge. Embarrassing her yesterday wasn't nearly enough revenge for what she did. Unfortunately, I'm no better at revenge than a bunny might be if you steal his carrot so I was at a loss. Cold water seemed too cliché. But what if it wasn't water?

Mom and dad had about three backyard citronella torches but they've never been used. It's time to put them good use. I went downstairs to the kitchen where we kept the lighter my dad used for cook-outs. Next I went down to the basement to get the torches. I winced as my feet touched the cold pavement as I went down the steps that let into the basement. I spied the three torches up against the corner opposite of mine and went quickly to get them. Sucking in a breath as my feet ran along the pavement floor.

When I took them in my hand, I noticed sometime else a foot away from them. It was the old skeleton that my uncle had given us. Since it was missing a few bones, it no longer worked for him to teach his science class. Lily and I were ten when we got it and she was terrified of it as a child so it has been down here since.

"Six years down here buddy, huh?" I muttered.

Old cobwebs cover its bines but there were no recent ones, I wouldn't take it if a spider inhabited it but none were so I took it.

"Perfect," I whispered in triumph as I made my way back upstairs.

It was 7:30 and Lily doesn't get up until 8:15 on weekends so I had plenty of time. I raced up the stairs again, careful not to drop either the torches or the skeleton. When I got to the doorway, I peered quietly inside to see if she was still sleeping. After confirming she was, I gently nudged the door open and crept inside. I left the torches on my bed and worked in carefully placing the skeleton in the doorway. I thought of something else as I finished adjusting the skeleton. Lily loved her purple silk scarf that dad had given her when he came back from Japan. It would look dazzling on Marshall which is what I decided to call my skeleton buddy.

After placing the scarf around Marshall's neck, I proceeded to take the robe I used last year for Halloween and put it on. I carefully lit the torches one by one and placed them at the two bottom corners of her bed and the last one next to her nightstand. I let down the dark blue curtains after shutting the blinds and turning it so it made the room darker. I put on the dark music I downloaded to my iPod a few weeks ago. I waited to press play.

I pulled my hood over my head and took her fake club she used last year as part of her pirate costume. I was ready to press play. As soon as I did I started chanting incoherent phrases as I tickled her nose with the feather duster and she sneezed. I let the duster fall to the ground as she rubbed her nose and sat up. My chanting got louder and soon her eyes widened as she looked around wildly. I raised the club over her head and leaned closer to her face.

"Today you die!" I said in raspy low voice. "My master will be pleased with my sacrifice of a mundane!"

She screamed at the top of her lungs and lunged for the door. She did another bloodcurdling scream when she encountered Marshall in the doorway. She shoved it away but her hand got stuck in the cobwebs and scarf. Her third scream brought mom running to our room. She flipped on the light switch to find a sobbing Lily and a cackling me on the floor.

"What is going on here?!" she demanded.

At that Lily looked up from her curled state and threw her arms around her legs before sobbing again.

"Lily, what do you do?"

"I was going to sacrifice her to my master," I said with a grin.

"Apologize to your sister right now and take those torches back to the basement. And this thing," She hissed at Marshall and I scowled at her.

"That's Marshall and he would like more respect," I said matter-of-factly.

"Well _Marshall_ can join the torches down in the basement, help up your sister.

"Fine," I grabbed Lily by her arms but her grip tightened on mom. "Ugh, Lily, come one. I wasn't really going to sacrifice you, make it up to you in fro-yo," Her grip loosened, "Straberry…" I sang. She let go and let me carry her back to her bed. Mom stomped downstairs after that.

"You think you'll be ok, Lil?"

"Why would you do that?" she finally screamed.

"Ok, yes it was very asshole-y of me and I might have went overboard but-"

"Might? You went overboard. You walked down the plank and into the water!"

"Ok, ok. See!? This is why no one let's me do the revenge plans. It's either not good enough or overboard."

"Revenge? Revenge for what?"

"Waking me up yesterday, the job offer, kind of, One bloody Direction on my iPod, you know _there is_ other ways to make me love them instead of stealing my iPod which you _know_ I take _very_ seriously."

"That's it? You risked _losing your sister_ for _that_?"

"That and the moans last night. What was that?"

"What?" Her face flushed and she hid her face in her hands. "Oh, God, if I didn't die of fright I might die of _humiliation_."

"It's not that big of a deal it's just very disturbing since you're you know, my sister."

"Oh, my God. I'd say I'm sorry but you don't deserve it."

"Fair enough."

"Ready to get a job?"

"Oh, that's today? I almost forgot."

"Yeah, kinda hard to forget anything but whatever was making you moan last night."

"Oh, shut up."

"Fine, it's not like I want to know anyway. Just get ready."

"You're not ready either."

"What? I don't look dazzling in this robe?"

"More like a sorcerer."

"Great, that's kind of what I was going for."

"Kind of," she said with an eye roll. I smiled and went to my drawer to get out a pair of jeans. I chose a simple blue t-shirt and my black and white converse. Lily, however, had dressed in a sundress. I raised a questioning eyebrow at her but she shrugged and turned around before I could catch her blush.

"He'll like it," I said as I passed by her to wet a towel in the small bathroom of out room. "He'll like you in anything."

I completely caught her blush this time but I kept quiet.

"Do you want help with the torches and…?" She trailed off.

"Marshall."

"Marshall," she confirmed.

"Nah, I got it." I unwrapped her scarf from Marshall's neck and handed it to her muttering a sorry.

"Thanks," she said. "It looked good on him but I love it so…"

"Yeah, he enjoyed it while he could," I said. "Do you know where the feather duster is?"

"Um, the supply closet?"

"Right. Can you get it for me?" I asked as I put out the torches with the towel.

"Um, sure?"

"Thanks," I said as I finished putting out the last one. I took them all in my arms and went down to the basement. When I came back up, Lily held out the feather duster to me and I took it graciously.

"Thanks,"

"Mmm-hmm."

I started cleaning out the cobwebs from Marshall until I was satisfied there was none left. I took a step back and admired my work.

"I hate that thing." Lily said under her breath.

"Shut up, you'll hurt his feelings."

"Like it has any."

I gasped in offense as I indignantly crossed my arms.

"Marshall does to have feelings and he will keep me company on your nights out with George." I put Marshall in my robe before heading downstairs with an annoyed Lily trailing behind me.

"Yay! Pancakes," she said suddenly, rushing past me as I rolled my eyes. _I hate pancakes. _"Yes, mom, thank you!" she cried.

"You're welcome, darling. Lily," she said sternly and it took all my efforts not to roll my eyes, my mom was a long shot from being stern. "Would you like some pancakes?"

"Mom, you know I hate pancakes."

"You're not normal," my sister said.

"State the obvious," I replied. She rolled her eyes.

"You hate pancakes and you hate One Direction. Are you sure we're related?"

"Unfortunately so, yes," I replied. "And I only hate pancakes because I ate so much of them at one point that I got sick of them, literally."

"Whatever."

"Are you girls done?" my mom asked.

"Not by a long shot," my sister replied, filling her plate with pancakes.

"I'll just have cereal." I said.

"Ok, you girls finish up and go get your job. I'm going back to bed."

She left as Lily and I said "Ok," and "K," simultaneously.

"Oatmeal?" Lily asked once mom was out of earshot.

"Oatmeal." I confirmed.

We ate in silence after that, the only sound being the scraping of plates. We washed them afterwards and went down to the car Lily and I shared but technically belonged to dad.

"Is Sae nice?" I asked once we were inside the car.

"Yes nut she does appreciate respect."

"Fair enough."

"She's great; you'll love having her as a boss."

"Just as long as she's not bitchy in the way most are."

"Sae's pretty chill but she can and will be stern if necessary just do your job right."

"That should be easy enough."

"Then you're all set, just be your pretty, polite little self and everything will turn out to be great."

"Awesome."

It was a half hour drive from our house to the restaurant but traffic wasn't _too_ bad. Lily had put on her own iPod which she found under her car seat this morning. She hadn't seen it in months and the battery was pretty low but she had good music there, not too much One Direction to my relief. She had Demi Lovato, Enrique Iglesias (we were into Latin music as well), Alicia Keys, Avril Lavigne, Camila, Christina Perri, Coldplay, One republic, etc. _Hero_ was ending just as we pulled into the parking lot.

Lily smiled at me as I got out the car, a determined smile that make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up because compared to her, a determined tiger, I was merely a kitten that wasn't ready. I don't know why I was so nervous all of a sudden. I was fine when we got into the car and on out drive here. Now all of a sudden, I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach like something bad was about to happen. Nonetheless, I returned a forced smile to Lily and looked straight ahead before she could see through it.

As we entered the front door, a bell jingled above us. There weren't many customers yet. I counted about five and they were all just shaking away the morning tiredness. A thick woman in about her mid-thirties greeted us.

"Lily, how nice to see you!" she came around the counter and hugged Lily. Lily hugged her back with a big smile on her face.

"Sae, nice to see you too," she pulled back and gestured towards me. "This is my sister, Maysilee." I gave a shy, small wave.

"Nice to meet you," Sae said as she shook my hand.

"You too," I said.

"The Donner sisters," she said, satisfied. "You look very alike, very pretty."

"Can't you tell us apart?" Lily asked.

"Of course I can," Sae said. "You have that birth mark on your neck and Maysilee has a different chin," My hand went to my chin and my brow furrowed. I had never paid much attention to my chin. "Now, let me show you girls around. Down that small hallway are the bathrooms, Maysilee." She pointed to a corner of the restaurant where you could see a small hallway. I nodded in understanding and then she took us to the kitchen. She pointed to a row of small sinks. "This is where you will wash your hands." The doorbell rang again and I was surprised I could hear it from the kitchen a red light went off above the kitchen door. "Oh, I have another customer. Stay right here I'll –"she broke off as a tall boy with olive skin and a mop of brown hair came through the kitchen door. My eyes widened as his gaze turned towards me. His gaze narrowed and all I could do was stare back. Beside me Lily had stiffened. "Haymitch..." Sae cried in surprise.

_Haymitch:_

"…Haymitch, I thought you were staying home with your mom today."

My gaze on the blonde girl narrowed deeper as I realized an exact copy of her was standing beside her. They both stared back with widened eyes. The one in the sundress had visibly stiffened while the other one now had a hard look in her eyes. Sae detected the stiff and cool state of the room.

"Haymitch, these are my two new employees, you will working with them now." The blonde girl in jeans looked at Sae with a confused expression. She opened her mouth to say something, her lips were fuller and darker than her sister's, but her sister pinched her thigh to shut her up. She glared at her but she ignored her and took a step towards me.

"Hello, I'm Lily Donner," she said extending her hand. I looked at it but didn't take it. She eventually pulled it back. "This is my sister Maysilee."

"And this is my 'I don't care' face," I said.

"Haymitch," Sae said sternly.

I pushed past her to where the dirty dishes were and started washing them without another word. I heard mutters from where I had left and caught only certain parts of them.

"…..Haymitch….he's usually….you'll get used to….sorry…"

"…..fine…don't worry…..ok….."

A moment later the girl in the jeans – Maysilee – appeared beside me. I reached for cups the Sae put down in the sink but the girl took them and started busily washing them. I tried to ignore her but it's kind of hard to ignore the presence of someone you hate but want to get to know better. _What am I thinking?_

"Sorry," she said suddenly. She said it in a hard voice, kind of forced.

"For what?" I asked just as hard.

"For yesterday, I was just trying to help."

"Yeah, well we might not be all rich like you but we don't need your charity."

She rolled her eyes. "But you gave the money back to my sister."

"What?"

"My sister," she repeated. "Lily –"

"Yeah, I know her name."

"Ok, well you gave the money back to her."

"Well, I apologize." I said sarcastically, too embarrassed that I had mixed them up to do anything else. It wasn't like I had paid attention to what either of them was wearing.

She said nothing else after that. We spent the minutes in awkward silence until we finished washing up the dishes. I'll admit I didn't expect her to finish that quickly. She didn't seem like the kind of girl that enjoyed washing plates with her perfect hair and all but she seemed better than her sister at least. We waited for Sae to bring more dishes while we stood awkwardly, at least she seemed awkward. I was leaning on the counter with my arms crossed trying to act nonchalant.

I noticed her hair was put in a messy braid. I smirked despite myself. She noticed and narrowed her eyes at me.

"What?"

"Nothing," I said with another smirk. I could tell I was annoying her and I was enjoying it. Pretty girls had noticed me before but lost interest just as quickly as they gained it. This one wasn't exactly interested but she wasn't trying to flirt like most girls did and as much as I hate to admit it, I liked how she wrinkled her nose and pursed her lips when she was annoyed. I also discovered that annoying her brings me more pleasure than I thought it would and pleasure is exactly what I don't have much. If what brought me pleasure brought her the opposite, it was worth every minute of her scowling.

I approached her and she simply raised an eyebrow at me. I took the end of her braid and teasingly pulled at it. Her brow furrowed in anger and confusion. I lowered my lips to her ear.

"Does this make you uncomfortable?"

"I – uh – I…I…" she stuttered. She gasped as I pushed her body against the counter with my own and ran my lips teasingly along her neck. Her chest heaved heavily and she gripped the back of the edge of the counter tightly with both hands. Unfortunately, her panting wasn't doing me any favors so I pulled away and kept my face a mask.

"Huh," I mused.

"What?" she demanded as she glared piercing daggers at me. I couldn't help but smile a small smile.

"Should I have that much affect on you?" _Should she have that much affect on you? _I pushed the nagging voice out of my head.

"Anyone can have that sort affect on me if they do _that_," she said, trying to calm her breathing me.

"Maybe."

"You enjoy yourself, don't you?"

"Just a little."

She huffed out a breath as Sae came back in carrying more dishes.

"Your sister just left," she informed Maysilee.

"What?"

"Something about George."

Maysilee's eyes widened and fury filled them but she managed to keep her voice steady as she said "She could have at least warned me."

"I'm sorry, darlin'" Sae said sympathetically. "She said you knew." Maysilee seemed to get angrier but she said nothing. At least not until Sae left. She started muttering angrily to herself. Something about putting Marshall in her bed at night."

"Whose Marshall?" I asked. "I doubt your sister would appreciate you putting some guy in her bed."

She ignored me as she started to violently wash the dishes.

"Whoa, whoa, hold up. You're going to break them."

She stopped and looked up at me. "Sorry, I just – ugh! How dare she just leave me without saying anything? And to go with _George._

"Oh, I see what's going on here." I said, surprised at and ignoring the tinge of jealousy I felt.

"Just now? Really? It's been obvious since –"

"You're jealous."

"What?"

"George, you like him and I'm guessing your sister does too so –"

"What? No!"she said, throwing her hands up. "That's her boyfriend. I don't like him like that. I just met him yesterday."

"Right…"

"I'm serious," she said. She looked serious but you never knew. "I'm mad because I knew she was going to go see him today but I didn't know she was leaving me _here_. With _you_ without even giving me a fucking warning. How much does it cost ya to say 'oh, hey, May, I'm leaving to see George. You want a ride back home?' or 'I'll be back in a few.' NO! She just left without warning."

"Whoa, strong language there."

"Oh, shut up. I understand I messed up yesterday but you gave the money back and I admitted I was wrong and I'm sorry but this is just different, in a way."

"You sure you're not overreacting?"

"Yes – I mean no… I don't know."

"Are you on your…"

"My what?" her eyes filled with understanding and dread as she responded. "No!" she ran her fingers through her hair. "No," she repeated.

"Are you…"

"Oh, God, no. I've never even. Never mind. Just let me do my job and fume in peace."

"Not quite sure fuming falls under peaceful."

She glared at me and resumed her dish washing.

_Maysilee:_

I wasn't going to admit it to anybody except myself that I wasn't worked up because of Lily leaving, at least not completely. I was worked up. Worked up because of _him. _I rather him ignore me and glare at me behind my back than running his lips along my neck and causing me to suppress a shudder. I hate him. I hate what he does to me. I hate what he makes me want to do. He makes me feel different. I hate that I love it. What is wrong with me? I just met him yesterday and if there was even a slim chance of forgetting him, it's gone. I blame Lily even though she didn't know he worked here. She didn't even know him but still, if it wasn't for this job I probably wouldn't even see him again, except at school maybe where I could easily ignore him and he could ignore me.

I was curious of what he was thinking. What was he thinking when he teased me? Did he enjoy it or did it disgust him and that's why he pulled away. Why did he tease me? He probably doesn't even remember my name or even care what it is. Hell, I'm not sure I remember my name around him. I sure as hell didn't remember it with his lips touching me. I heard that it felt good but I never thought it would feel amazing. I hated it. I hate him. I hate that I want him. I want to get to know him better. _What am I thinking? _At this rate, this death is going to be more painful than if my neck were to be screwed or ripped off. He thinks he's so slick?

Two can play that game. I rinsed my and with steady hands I undid my messy braid, slowly running my fingers through the strands and them putting them up in a high pony tail and turning it into a messy bun. I rinsed my hands again to put my hair back. I let the water run down my neck. I risked a glance at him. He was staring intently at me. When he caught me looking, he cleared his throat and resumed washing the fork in his hand. I smirked and resumed my own washing, never glancing him again until I was done.

_Lily:_

George opened the door before I could even knock or ring his doorbell.

"Eager much?"

"Yes," He responded before kissing me quickly and pulling me inside, closing the door behind us. He continued to kiss me.

"Wait, where are your parents?"

"Out," he gasped.

"Ok, how long will it take before they get back?"

"Late," he grunted. "Midnight."

"Why so late?"

"Does it matter?"

"N-no but s-still."

"Went to Shelby to see my aunt."

"What do you plan to do until then?"

"Whatever you want."

"What if what I want is naughty?" He stopped kissing me.

"What kind of naughty?"

"Dirty, big kids, naughty."

"I don't object but I've never, you know, _that._"

"You haven't?"

"No. Have you?" I shut my eyes and squeezed them tight.

"Maybe we shouldn't do this."

"Ok, but why not."

"I'm not ready."

"Ok, we can always watch a movie and snuggle. I heard that the first time for a girl is supposed to be painful so I understand why you don –"

"No, George, it's not my first time."

"Oh," he said. "Well, we still don't have to if you don't want to."

"I do. God, I do but I don't think I'm ready. I need to tell you something."

"Sure, babe. Anything."

"I've only had it twice."

"What? Sex?"

"Yes, sex."

"I gave my virginity to an asshole that didn't deserve it. When he asked for it again, I told him I wanted to wait a little longer before doing it again. He didn't wait longer. He forced me." At this point, I don't even cry about it. It was last year and even though it still hurts that someone who I trusted like I trusted him betrayed me hurt, I still had a lot to go for me. I became more guarded and I made sure I knew and trusted the next boy I would make my boyfriend. I went on a lot of dates but it never went farther than a kiss. Many of them were ok but I just didn't feel like they were _the one_, like Lily would put it. George was different. I spent a lot of time being his friend before I even considered taking him on a date and when I did, I knew I was ready to give him a chance. A lot of my "other" dates were with him. I trust him but I want to wait before taking that step with him, no matter how much he drives me crazy every time I see him.

"Oh, my God. Darling, I'd never do that to you."

"I know." I smiled at him.

"You're so strong, you know that? And you're beautiful and I love your nose."

"My nose?"

"Yes, your nose. It's adorable."

"Thank you," I laughed.

"You know what I love?"

"What?"

"Your lips."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. The sweetest things come from them and they have the power to make me feel like I'm on fire.

"I love your lips too and your eyes."

"I love your eyes too. They're so warm and kind and they make me feel like the most beautiful girl every time they are placed upon me. Plus, I love the color. Honey with specks of green."

"You noticed the specks?"

"Yes."

"You are very observant."

"Can we go to the sofa, not I don't enjoy being pressed against the wall by you."

"Oh, sure." He pulled away from me and I followed him to his living room before he stopped and turned around. "Do you want to come to my room?"

"Sure." I followed him upstairs to his room. It was tidy for a teenage boy's room. He sat at edge of his bed. I followed him but instead I crawled under his covers and lay my head on his pillow. He came up to me and kissed my forehead. "Do you want me to put on a movie?"

"Which one?"

"'Pulling Strings'?"

"Ok."

"Ok, I'll be right back." He left to put on the movie and climbed under the covers with me.

"What is it about?"

"This _mariachi _wants to get a visa for his daughter to send her to Arizona with her grandparents but the lady doesn't give it to him. This lady obviously works for the U.S Embassy and is about to move to London. Her boss tells her to take care of it and she agrees but after partying because her best friend begs her to, she gets drunk and the _mariachi_ sleeping on a bus bench. He takes her to his house since he doesn't know where she lives. When she wakes up she automatically looks for the laptop but the guy hides it so he can 'help' her find it and she can see he deserves the visa. It's really funny. It's a clean romantic comedy."

"It sounds great."

"It is. And it's not as sad as 'Instructions Not Included'"

"Oh, my God. Great, I cried so hard in the movie."

"I teared up myself but I'm a guy so I didn't cry."

"Guys can cry."

"Yes but I don't cry because of movies." The movie started in a private school with a single father and his adorable daughter.

I immediately made my favourite character the _mariachi_'s best friend, _Canicas_. I fell in love with all the music that they played. When we got to the part where they were raising money I decided this was one of the best movies I've ever seen and I loved the serenading scene.

"…._deja que salga la luna, deja que se meta el sol, deja que caiga la noche_…."

"I love that song." I whispered to George.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." He smiled down at me and kissed my lips as the mom yelled and threatened to call the police on the screen. Then the next started playing.

"…._algo en ti despertó algo en mi. Sin querer hacerlo sanaste mi corazón. Entendí que la vida es así. Sencilla y fácil…. Y ahí estas tu en cada paso en cada sueño, confirmando todo y ya voy en camino, encontrando destino. De la mano contigo la esperanza vuelve y me siento vivoooo_…."

"Do you like that song?"

"I love that song. Wait, till we get to my favourite one."

Soon enough, after Rachael finds out Alejandro lied, _Canicas_ starts to sing.

"…._ahora si ya es imposible….pero si yo ya sabía que todo esto pasaría, como diablos fui a caer…que torpeza que manera de perder…tú te vas y yo me voy…y que te bendiga Dios_…."

"Why is that your favourite song?

"That's the song my dad would sing to my mom every time they fought and she would always forgive him."

"That's romantic."

"Uh-huh."

"What time is it?"

"Three-thirty."

"Oh, man. I have to pick up my sister. I left her at Sae's."

"Really? She let you leave her there?"

"I didn't tell her I was leaving, I told Sae to tell her I left."

"Man, I bet she was pissed."

"Maybe but she deserves it, she gave me the fright of my life this morning."

"What did she do?"

"She dressed up like one of those Silent Brothers in Cassandra Clare books and put _lit_ torches at each corner of my bed while chanting about sacrificing me to her master with creepy music in the background. I encountered Marshall wearing my favourite scarf when I tried to run away."

George laughed and I hit his leg. "It's not funny!"

"Sorry, I can just imagine you screaming."

"George it's not funny! I was scared out of my wits!"

"Ok, ok. I'm sorry." He said as he tried to calm down. "Who's Marshall?"

"This old skeleton our uncle gave us when we were kids."

George laughed again and I got up, annoyed.

"Oh, come on. I'm sorry. You're saying you wouldn't be laughing if I had a brother who pranked me enough to make me scream?"

"But you don't have a brother."

"A friend then?"

"Maybe."

"See?"

"I hate you."

"Well, I don't. I love… everything about you." I looked at him. He almost said he loved me. Does he love me? "Uh, I'll see you later."

"Ok," I said. I hugged him tightly. "Thanks for the movie."

"You're welcome." I kissed his cheek and headed on out to my car.

_Haymitch:_

Hours later, I found myself in the bathroom.

_That bitch_. If she thinks she can move me by letting water run down her long and elegant neck, then she is completely right and it was not fair. She is having a completely uncalled effect on me and if an end isn't put to it, a fist will be put into a wall and that fist will be mine. I've never been good with feelings and while I did notice when a girl was pretty, it was more of observation than interest.

I've never kissed a girl. Ever.

I've never really had the urge before so why, all of sudden, do I want to kiss her? She doesn't really look like her sister. I mean at first glance she does but not if you look closer. Like I said, her lips are fuller and her nose is a bit bigger. She has an adorable chin and her eyes are a piercing blue. They are softer in a way even though their color is darker than her sister's. _Why are you noticing all of this, you buffoon?_

She is too pretty for her own good and she doesn't even try to be pretty. She came in with jeans and a t-shirt and I wanted to press her against the wall. I had already pressed her against the counter. I'm surprised my body didn't react in a certain, awkward way. I could barely contain it from reacting that way from her panting. The way she exploded was also pretty hot. _OH, MY GOD! HAYMITCH, SHUT UP!_

I ran a hand through my hair and let out an exasperated breath. I looked at myself in the mirror. I looked the same but I was disheveled and currently dying inside. Splashing water on my face hadn't done any good. I combed my finger through my hair one last time before frowning upon my reflection and exiting the bathroom.

Maysilee was at the counter. _Should I say hi?_

"Hey," she greeted. _Definitely not._

I kept quiet as I passed her.

"Haymitch, I'm closing up in two hours. You can home if you'd like."

"I'm fine, Aunt Sae."

I risked a glance at Maysilee. _Bad choice_. She was looking at me with a surprised expression on her face. I ignored her and turned back to Sae just as the doorbell rang. We all turned in time to see Lilo pass through the door. Or was it Lily? No, I'm certain it was Lilo.

"It was about time you showed up." Maysilee demanded.

"Don't scare me to death next time."

"You're still alive," Maysilee defensively. "At least for now," she added with a wicked grin.

"You wouldn't dare."

"There's more to killing you than just ending your life and plus, I think we've proven you don't know what I would and would not dare to do." Lily kept quiet after that.

"Did you have fun?" Maysilee added sarcastically.

"Yes, I did, thank you." Maysilee rolled her eyes.

"Of course you did, doing God knows what with George."

"It was only kissing, thank you."

"It was only kissing, she says. Let's get a job, she says. It'll be fun, she says."

"Oh, shut up."

"Warn me next time you leave me."

"Would you have stayed if I told you?"

"Probably since I don't have anywhere to go."

"What about Twill and Seeder? Rosemary?"

"Twill is taking care of Bonnie, Seeder went to Chaff's game and Rosemary is spending her day off with Hazelle."

Lilo kept quiet after that and that's when I realized we were still around the counter. Luckily, there were no customers but there was Sae.

"Lily," she said. _So it was Lily._ "You know it was wrong to leave your sister like that. You said she knew."

"I know Sae and I'm sorry for not telling you but not for what I did to her. I'm not sorry about scaring you to half death either. It was extremely enjoyable to see you sobbing on the floor and clutching on to mom." I could hardly suppress my laughter at that so I went into a coughing fit.

"Haymitch," Sae said sharply.

All I could do was shrug and retreat to the kitchen.

_Maysilee:_

I couldn't help the grin that overtook my face as Haymitch retreated to the kitchen. I wasn't the least bit sorry for saying what I did out loud. In fact, I felt proud of my little prank this morning. More than I had been when I saw Lily crying on the floor. Lily looked after him with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. It was all I could do not to smile wider.

"How _dare_ he?"

"God, stop being so dramatic and take me home."

She glared daggers at me and walked out the door with me following her. I turned back when I got to the door.

"Thanks for everything Ms. Sae and I apologize for the drama."

"It's ok, darling and just call me Sae."

"OK. Have a nice afternoon, Sae."

"You too."

When I got in the car, Lily refused to even look at me.

"Sooo… Do you think mom and dad are still… you know…."

"I don't know." She replied coldly.

"Ok so what do you want to do?"

"Rip off your head."

"Harsh but that's not what I meant."

"I don't know, Maysilee."

"How long do you think it takes them?"

"Let's just call."

"OK"

Lily picked up her phone and called mom. She picked up at the first ring.

"Mom, can we're done her can we come over?" Lily asked.

"Ok, thanks," she said after a while.

"So?"

"We can go."

"Great."

We spent the rest of the ride home in silence.

_Haymitch:_

There have been no customers since the sisters left so I have been bored out of my mind the entire time since they left. I glad I didn't have time to say goodbye to them, most importantly Maysilee. I hear sister's screech when they left. I decided Maysilee was ok. She wasn't preppy from what I could tell and she knew how avenge. I think.

At least I don't have to worry about hearing her ramble about 1D or, hopefully, Justin Bieber. But really, I see no reason why she would like him.

_Ugh…_

I really need to get it together. The teasing I pulled off today needs to stop. I need to stop thinking about her and the best way to do that is to avoid her but how am I supposed to do that when she's working next to me from now on. It can't just be her can it? Her sister needs to work on the dishes too. Come to think of it; what did her sister do today besides run off to her boyfriend? I can see why Maysilee was upset. I can at least guess, I don't have any siblings of my own; thankfully.

It's not that I wouldn't like siblings but I'd hate to have them dragged into our family drama. Not that it hasn't gotten better but it would be more work for my mom. I wouldn't want her to suffer anymore than she already has. I wonder how many children she even wanted to have before all the shit that has been our lives happened. It doesn't matter, I'll never ask her.

I'm not sure I want children. Again, not that it matters because I would need someone else to have children of my own and honestly I don't think that person is planning to come around anytime soon, or ever. If she ever did come around I would probably push her away with my stone hard attitude and my lack of words.

The only thing attractive about me is physical and I push it away with my signature scowl. Many girls try to flirt with me but give up after I refuse to utter a word to them besides "Do you ever shut up?" or "Do you have an off button?" Some just laugh it off and claim I'm funny and those are the ones I hate the most. How hard is it to get a clue? I've never met a girl I haven't wanted to push away. Until today. Maysilee's the first girl I haven't wanted to push away. Not that I won't. I will even if I don't want to. I have to.

I have to ignore her, be mean to her, and push her away figuratively or literally. Maybe both. Hopefully she ignores me back. I have to ignore her, I have to but the question is: can I? I already like too many things about her and I just met her today.

"Haymitch?" I look up and see Sae staring at me with concern in her expression.

"Yeah?"

"Are you ok?"

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seem to be in deep thought –"

"And that's bad?" I asked irritated.

"Well, no but I said your name various times already and you haven't answered, sweetheart."

My eyes widened in surprise. That doesn't happen often. "Oh," was all I said.

"I was thinking of closing up early today. What do you think?"

"Sure, whatever."

"Ok, can you help me close up?"

"How?"

"Just wipe away the remaining tables and sweep up the floor while I lock up the back door and see if everything is set right in the kitchen."

"Do you want help cleaning the bathrooms?"

"Sure, that'd be great. Let me turn off the 'OPEN' sign and lock the front door."

We both made our way to the front and got on with our tasks.

As I wiped the tables I got lost in thought again.

What would happen if I couldn't ignore her or push her away? I already couldn't push thoughts of her away. Why couldn't I push thoughts of her away? I have spent enough of my whole life not giving a shit, except for my mom of course, so why couldn't I do it now? She hadn't even done anything to get my attention. Well she did give money to my mom and that obviously grabbed my attention but for some reason that doesn't seem to matter much.

She did talk to me first but a lot of girls talked to me first. I don't know. Maybe it was the fact that she didn't seem afraid of me, it helped that she's gorgeous, or didn't. She saw me as a person and not one that she could fuck and get over with. As much as I hate it, she did try to help instead of looking at me or my mom with disgust. It wasn't her fault she was rich but I always hated girls who were. They thought they were so much better than everyone and could always get what they wanted. At least the ones at my school.

I hated myself for liking her.

I hated myself for wanting to get to know her better.

She seemed perfect. That was another problem, I've never known someone who was perfect and if the known was scary as heel what would the unknown be like? Even if she did let me in, would I be able to live up to her expectations?

_God, Haymitch, you just fucking met her._

I decided it didn't matter. Well, at least I tried to decide that. There was no way 'we' were happening. The only 'we' that existed in my life was my mom and I and that's how I wanted it to stay.

"Haymitch, should we start cleaning up the bathrooms?"

"Yeah. I'll be right there."

After I deposited the dirty dish towel into the bucket beside the counter I went into the small supply closet and got out the supplies to clean the bathroom.

Again I got lost in thoughts while cleaning out the stalls but not about her. I could only guess how many fights I have gotten in over the years in the school bathroom stalls and almost about anywhere else. Surprisingly, I have great grades and you're never really in trouble until you get caught which has never happened to me because people know better not go and snitch on me. I always make sure not to leave my opponents unconscious. It hurts more anyway and I don't have to worry about parents being called. There will always be rumors though and it's not like teachers don't know about it. They just don't give a shit. They let students do what they want as long as it isn't in their class. Hell, they probably root for their favourite student.

There is something however that the teachers don't know about. Every day during free period or even after school, there are planned fights. And I have no idea how but if the teachers have any knowledge about it, they don't say anything about it. The people who organize the fights are rich senior guys. They get bored of fucking around so they pick lower grade students and set them up with another student. They get paid a lot to see the fights and they pay us. Rumors are that they pay teachers to shut up and pretend like they don't know what's going on underneath their noses. The bastards pretty much make a profit out of our bruises and cuts but nobody complains about it except the guy who loses. He is usually shut up with an extra bruise or cut, warning him of what's to come if he dares to open up his mouth and utter a single word about the fights. If not, he is left almost unconscious until he agrees not to tell. It may sound sick but if they are going to be a pussy about getting beat up in a fight in which they agreed and got paid to fight in then they deserve what they get.

If you haven't already guessed, I'm part of that and I'm one of the bastards' favourites. I bring them the most money because a lot of students, even those who don't support their little fights, enjoy watching me fight. I've only been beat once and I got him back so bad for offending the only family I have that he had to leave school. I don't even remember his name.

All the money I've earned, I've kept in a notebook under my bed just in case. I have no idea how much money it is but it's a lot. I only use it for emergencies and that's where I got the money I returned to the sisters yesterday. I had it in case my mom wanted something she couldn't afford.

I've lost count of the number of fights I've been in, I stopped after 31 because really who was keeping count? Not me. All the trouble I risk getting in is for my the women who risked her life for years to save mine.

**A/N I cannot say enough times how sorry I am for updating so late. It's almost been an entire month and I've been doing is procrastinating, testing, and reading City of Heavenly Fire. Oh, and crying. I'll probably be sent to the hanging tree because making you wait that long is a HUGE crime. Again, so, so sorry. I hope it was worth the wait. Let me know if I'm going to fast in the story or if I made a mistake, especially a grammar mistake, God forbid but I probably have a bunch of those.**


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